Tuesday, January 1, 2019

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

#HappyNewYear from me to you! Where has the year gone? One day I was taking photos for my Memorial Day post and the next thing I know it's #2019!

I am compelled to explain my absence from my blog and all my social media in the past seven months. For the ones who have read my first book, 'A Sister's Love', the main character Flo moves to New York City to take care of her niece and nephew. While there, she takes interest in the well-being of a teenage boy, Daniel. This past summer, I got the opportunity to experience opening my home and my heart to a teenager and an infant. Talk about a major life change! Although, my youngest son is 19 the mother instinct kicked right in gear whenever the little one woke in the middle of the night. I never grumbled when I woke to fetch a bottle, changed a diaper, nor rocked the baby and myself back to sleep at 2 am. My attitude has been I'm blessed to have had the opportunity God has given me. Too often we get caught up in being inconvenienced, we overlook the opportunity that God is preparing us for a blessing.

Although there were times, I chastised myself for not finding the time to write and/or blog, I now understand God had a bigger plan that included life lessons for me. The past couple of years, I have been so consumed with studying the craft of writing and trying to learn what potential literary agents would be interested in reading in my manuscripts, I lost focus on what was more important: my love for writing and telling my stories. So what if I don't properly introduce the hero and heroine on the first page? What's the big deal about showing instead of telling and so what if my characters don't have a concise goal-motivated-conflict? The way I write (my voice) is totally different from all other authors and rightly it should be. My focus for the upcoming year is to complete to manuscripts I've been working on and to continue to ask God for guidance in all that I do. He hasn't failed me yet.

In spite of my once routine life getting all shook up, I had the opportunity to speak with a lady from my hometown, Becky Barfield who sings in a gospel group, FOREVER CHANGED. Based out of Lexington, SC, the members of Forever Changed are from Lexington, SC; Woodruff, SC, and as far away as Pigeon Forge, TN.

Sharing God's love through music, Becky told me about visiting a church and after the singing, a man walked up and introduced himself, 'my name is Jimmy'. Becky described how the wife broke down in tears. Jimmy had dementia and he hadn't known his name in a very, long time.

On other instances, Becky recounted how visitors would introduce themselves after the singing and express how they felt close to their loved ones who had passed.

As I drove home from my church the last time Forever Changed visited, I reflected on the message I received from their song worship and I were reminded of this Bible verse:

1 Corinthians 2:12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.

Until next time, I wish everyone a blessed Happy New Year and a wonderful week!